Pirates Close WPBI With Comeback Win Over UNCG

Friday, December 21

West Palm Beach, Fla.

7 p.m.

Seton Hall University

8-3

UNC Greensboro

6-7

Seton Hall

UNCG

12/21/2018 10:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Seton Hall women's basketball team (8-3) closed its non-conference slate in dramatic fashion, storming back to knock off UNCG (6-7) by a score of 71-64 on Friday night at Keiser University's Massimino Court. The contest was the finale of the West Palm Beach Invitational.

The Pirates trailed for more than 30 minutes on the night, taking a lead on the game's first possession and not again until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The Hall went to the half down six and was down as many as 11 in the second half, but closed regulation on a 9-2 run and out-scored UNCG 19-8 in the final frame to roar back to a comeback win.

Shadeen Samuels (Ossining, N.Y.) led The Hall with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Kaela Hilaire (Queens, N.Y.) added 15 points and four assists. Victoria Cardaci (Holmdel, N.J.) was the third Pirate in double-figures with 13 points and was one of four Pirates to record two steals in the contest.

How it Happened
The Pirates trailed by six entering the second half, and saw UNCG score the first five points of the third quarter to swell its lead to 39-28 and force a Pirate timeout early in the third. The Hall responded emphatically, ripping off an 11-2 run capped by five-straight points from Cardaci to pull within 41-39 and force a UNCG timeout.

The Hall would go to the fourth quarter down by four, as Hilaire knocked down an elbow jumper as time expired in the third to cut UNCG's lead to 56-52. The Pirates took their first lead since the opening moments early in the fourth, going ahead 57-56 by way of a three-point play converted by Inja Butina (Zagreb, Croatia).

The teams traded leads through the bulk of the fourth quarter, and with 4:55 remaining the score was level at 62-62. After a pair of empty possessions, The Hall forced a shot clock violation and took over with 3:55 remaining. On the ensuing possession Hilaire found Samuels inside for a hoop and a foul, converting the three-point play to give The Hall a 65-62 lead. Samuels connected again on The Hall's next trip with a pair of free throws and Hilaire pushed the lead to seven with a bucket at 2:43.

UNCG snapped the 7-0 run with a basket at 1:44 to cut The Hall's lead to 69-64. On the next trip, the Pirates ran the shot clock down before Hilaire put the game on ice with a driving layup that pushed the score to its final 71-64 mark.

Inside The Numbers

The Pirates shot 48.3 percent (29-60) for the game, including a 58.6 percent (17-29) mark in the second half
The Hall committed a season-low nine turnovers and forced 18 UNCG miscues, out-scoring the Spartans 18-8 off those turnovers
The Pirates finished with 10 steals against only two for UNCG
Butina and Hilaire each had four of The Hall's 14 assists
The Hall out-scored UNCG 36-24 in the paint and 19-16 in bench points

News and Notes

The win was the first time this season Seton Hall has come back from a halftime deficit (1-3)
The victory came in The Hall's first all-time meeting with UNCG
The Pirates are now 42-39 all-time during in-season neutral site tournament play
Cardaci's 13-point effort came in an unconventional way for the 3-point specialist – the graduate guard was 3-of-4 from inside the arc
The four attempts from two-point range from Cardaci matched her total over The Hall's first 10 contests
The Pirates held the Spartans to eight points in the fourth quarter, marking the 34^th time since 2015-16 that The Hall has held an opponent to a single-digit frame
Nicole Jimenez (Miami, Fla.) knocked down a pair of 3-pointers – she has hit a triple in every game this season and multiple trifectas on eight occasions

Up Next
The Pirates have nine days off before returning to action to kick off BIG EAST play against rival St. John's on Sunday, Dec. 30 at Walsh Gym.